The use of small ground tillers which are manually guided and powered by internal combustion engines has grown considerably in recent years. It has been a real benefit to the home gardener. One problem that has been encountered in the use of such tillers, is the build-up of tall weeds and grass being wound around the drive shaft. The build-up of weeds and grass which usually contains a considerable amount of sand and dirt particles results in forcing the sand and dirt particles into the grease seals around the drive shaft and destroys the seals. The destruction of the seals results in loss of lubricant in the drive gear box, bearing failure, and the failure of the entire drive unit.
The present invention prevents the build-up of the weeds and grass around the drive shaft and overcomes the above mentioned problem.
Pierce U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,185 and Goertzen U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,365 provide devices to prevent the build-up of weeds and grass around the drive shafts of a tiller. It is believed that the subject invention is an improvement of the prior art.